From Italy to your business: mastering pizza and pinsa for professionals
Pizza and pinsa continue to evolve, rooted in Italian tradition but increasingly shaped by consumer expectations for quality, digestibility, and innovation. For professionals, understanding the nuances of dough formulation and baking technique is key to delivering consistency and excellence, whether at artisanal scale or industrial volume. At Puratos, we can help you with how it is done.
Understanding the dough: key differences and considerations
Pizza, in its many regional styles, is defined by its dough – typically a chewy, round base topped and baked at high temperatures. Each style of pizza demands specific hydration levels, fermentation times, and baking conditions.
Pinsa, by contrast, offers a lighter, more digestible experience. It derives its name from the Latin word ‘pinsere’, meaning ‘to stretch or press’. Its dough is different from pizza because it is made with a unique blend of wheat, rice, and soy flours. It undergoes a longer fermentation process and is shaped into an oval. The process includes a double bake at lower temperatures, resulting in a crust that is simultaneously crispy and soft. These characteristics make pinsa a compelling choice for bakeries seeking to expand their offer with a premium, trend-forward product.
Essentially, while pizza delivers familiarity through its regional styles and traditional chew, pinsa stands out for its lightness, digestibility, and distinct texture due to the higher water content, fermentation process, and lower baking temperatures.
The most popular variations
🍅 Napoli pizza: A traditional style from Naples, Italy, known for its soft, thin crust with airy edges, fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil. Typically cooked in a wood-fired oven.
🗽New York pizza: An American classic with a large, thin, crisp yet foldable crust, topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella. Often sold by the slice as street food.
🌮Calzone: A folded pizza resembling a half-moon, stuffed with cheese, meats, or vegetables. It can be baked or fried for a portable twist on pizza.
🍕Margherita pizza: A variation of Neapolitan pizza, featuring tomato sauce, mozzarella, and fresh basil to represent the colours of the Italian flag.
🧀 Deep Dish pizza: From Chicago, it’s known for its thick crust and layers of cheese, chunky tomato sauce, and toppings, baked in a deep pan.
☀️ Pinsa Romana: A Roman-inspired dish known for its light, airy crust is baked twice for a crispy texture and distinct oval shape.
🌱Vegan pizza: Excludes animal products, using plant-based cheeses, vegetables, herbs, and meat substitutes, offering a fully vegan twist on traditional pizza.
🍕 Pinsa margherita: A pinsa variation topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil, combining the airy pinsa crust with classic Margherita flavours.
Blend tradition and innovation in every pizza and pinsa
Creating standout pizza and pinsa products begins with the base, but what sets a finished product apart is how texture and flavour are developed throughout the baking process. And that’s why every ingredient plays a role in supporting the process and making the eating experience more enjoyable.
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